Science and Research committee  My apologies. Could you repeat the question? What flaws were found in the CRCC talent strategy, and what would we do to address those?

Science and Research committee  The CRCC talent strategy is based in terms of empowering the students, so it's a student-centred, data-driven and evidence-informed strategy. We have it set around pillars of equity, diversity, inclusion, indigenous reconciliation, internationalization and student mobility, better harmonization across the tri-agency and preparing students for alternate career paths outside of and beyond academia.

Science and Research committee  There are several countries internationally that we have been looking to in terms of environmental scanning. What I can do is provide the clerk with information on these scans so that everyone has a full report on that.

Science and Research committee  Yes. Certainly the funding remains top of mind, and that's the biggest issue, but there are of course matters of equity, diversity and inclusion in terms of barriers and access to the program, so ensuring that policies, program design, peer review and evaluation are all barrier-free and that we are reviewing these processes continually to ensure that we're not increasing or creating new challenges are very important parts as well.

Science and Research committee  I would echo the comments made by my fellow witnesses. I think this increase would impact their mental health and certainly support the students much more effectively than they are supported now.

Science and Research committee  Thank you so much for your question. This certainly has come to our attention during our consultations for our strategic plan, “NSERC 2030”. One of the key themes we heard about was an increase for the value and duration of these awards. Many folks commented on the fact that the awards hadn't been increased in the time frame you've mentioned.

Science and Research committee  Thank you so much for the question. I do have to agree with my fellow witness on raising the value and the duration of the stipends for both the post-doctoral and doctoral levels. At NSERC, we also had an undergraduate student research award and one at the master's level, of course.

Science and Research committee  It's all good, Dr. Duncan.

Science and Research committee  Thank you, Alejandro. Good evening, Madam Chair and members of the committee. As a former research scientist and someone who benefited from the support offered to trainees by the Government of Canada, it’s an honour to contribute to this important study. I wish to acknowledge that I am living and working on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.